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Amazon said to be in talks to buy Dubai's Souq.com for $1bn

People close to the talks say US e-commerce giant is looking to get footing in the high-growth Middle East market

(Getty Images)

By Staff writer

Thu 24 Nov 2016 04:14 PM

Amazon.com Inc is reportedly in talks to acquire Dubai-based online retailer Souq.com for about $1 billion, it was reported on Thursday.

Bloomberg reported that the deal will give the US-based e-commerce giant a footprint in the high-growth Middle East market, citing people familiar with the matter.

It said Amazon is considering a bid for all of the site, which had initially planned to sell a stake of at least 30 percent.

No final agreements have been reached and negotiations could still falter, Bloomberg added.

A spokesman for Souq.com declined to comment while a representative for Amazon didn’t respond, Bloomberg reported.

In September, it was reported that Souq.com, the largest online retailer in the Middle East, was reportedly planning to sell a stake of 30 percent and had appointed advisers at Goldman Sachs Group to find buyers for the stake.

In February, Souq.com announced it had completed a funding round of more than AED1 billion ($275 million), the largest financing of an e-commerce business in the region.

Established in 2005, Souq.com sells more than 400,000 products online to customers in the UAE, Egypt, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.